Concord resident chosen to announce during Sox-Yankees game

Saturday

Jul 14, 2012 at 12:01 AMJul 14, 2012 at 2:12 PM

Arriving at the ballpark about two-and-a-half hours prior to the first pitch for game one of a day-night doubleheader against the New York Yankees on Saturday, David Cook entered the announcer’s booth at Fenway Park and practiced reading a few paragraphs of the game’s script over the microphone to see how he sounded.

Kimberly A. Hooper/Staff Writer

Arriving at the ballpark about two-and-a-half hours prior to the first pitch for game one of a day-night doubleheader against the New York Yankees on Saturday, David Cook entered the announcer’s booth at Fenway Park and practiced reading a few paragraphs of the game’s script over the microphone to see how he sounded.

“Walking into that booth was huge for me,” said Cook in a phone interview on Tuesday afternoon. “I spent about an hour reading the script for the day and getting familiar with names of pre-game honorees, which included the new president of MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, young scholars, Iraq war veterans and a 100-year-old fan who was being saluted.”

On that same day, Fenway Park joined the National Register of Historic Places, and Cook also announced that pre-game ceremony.

While this was the first Red Sox game Cook had the thrill of announcing, it wasn’t the first time he was in the booth.

Back in 2003, when the Red Sox organization was looking for a new ballpark announcer at Fenway Park, Cook was given an opportunity to audition and was a finalist for the sought-after position. After a series of auditions, Carl Beane was selected. Beane passed away suddenly on May 9 after suffering a heart attack while driving home, according to his website. Since then, the Red Sox organization has been inviting local sports and media voices into the booth to be “guest voices” for a game at Fenway.

Last month, Cook said he received a call from the Red Sox, inviting him to select a game to announce.

“I got a call from John Carter [director of Red Sox productions] and he asked me if I wanted to announce the next night’s game,” Cook said.

Thinking it was probably too soon of notice, Cook said Carter gave him the option of selecting another date. Being a bit superstitious, he went with “lucky 7s” and picked July 7 versus the rival Yankees.

“I also had seats for the July 7 game, so it worked out,” Cook said.

Cook, who moved to Concord in 1970, has been involved with voice-over productions and acting since he was in college. He’s been the voice of the Deutsche Bank Championship in Norton for 10 years and announced the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Legends event in Maine last month. Cook also appears in commercials and narrates audio books.

The best part of the day for Cook on Saturday was when he finally got to introduce “Big Papi” David Ortiz, the designated hitter for the Red Sox.

On the same level as the booth, Cook said there is a dining room where media members and staff go for a buffet. While he was there he saw familiar faces including Jerry Remy from New England Sports Network (NESN) and Fox Sports broadcaster Joe Buck.

“I had to pinch myself a few times to make sure this was all really happening and I was going to be a part of this day’s experience,” Cook said.

Three hours and 15 minutes later, the game was over. The Red Sox lost 6 to 1 in Saturday afternoon’s makeup game from April 22, but Cook said it was still an unforgettable game.

“It was a huge bucket-list thrill,” Cook said. “I had the best seat in the house. I am grateful to the Boston Red Sox for making this truly memorable afternoon possible.”